I'm just listening to this, one of my favorite albums ever. Lots of what you read about jazz tends to look down on anything recorded in the late 60s featuring more pop tunes than standards. Still, this is often my favorite stuff.
I like this album so much because the song choices are excellent, the performances superb, and the arrangement and conducting are by Claus Ogerman, the German genius who was behind much of the great production on the records of Jobim and others in the 60s. His sweeping strings are incredibly beautiful. For a track that exemplifies this, check out Astrud Gilberto's 'Funny World' from 1966's 'The Shadow of your Smile' (to make it even more perfect, this is a Morricone composition).
Anyway, I digress. The album opens with the superb Mancini composition 'Sally's Tomato', from 'Breakfast at Tiffany's'. Like the whole album, this is a breezy, light bossa number. A great bouncy version of 'Sunny' follows, wiht 60s standards 'By the time I get to Phoenix', 'This guy's in Love with you', and 'Wave' also appearing. Some of the string and piano introductions are truly breathtaking.
There's another Mancini track (dreamsville), and 2 Beatles numbers (Yesterday and a divine Eleanor Rigby) before the LP closes on an upbeat, funky note with 'Ode to Billy Joe', a song I'm getting to really love. A superb, underrated LP. I think there is a CD available of this as well, although it could be out of print. I recommend tracking it down one way or another.
